The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-9438, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a shield connection structure in which a shielded wire is connected through a terminal to an equipment, such for example as a motor of an electric car, and a shielding portion of the shielded wire is connected to a casing of the equipment for grounding purposes.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional shield connection structure is shown in FIGS. 4 to 6.
In FIG. 4, a shielded wire 1 is subjected to an end processing, and is mounted on a casing 2 in such a manner that a shielding portion of the shielded wire 1 is connected to this casing for grounding purposes. As shown in FIG. 5, in this shielded wire 1, an insulating member 4 is coated on a conductor 3, and a braided wire 5, comprising conductor wires woven into a net-like structure, is provided on this insulating member 4, and a sheath 6 is provided on this braided wire 5 to cover the same. The structure of connecting the shielded wire 1 of this construction to the casing 2 is constructed as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Namely, an end portion of the shielded wire 1 is subjected to a processing, in which first, the sheath 6 is removed, thereby exposing the braided wire 5, and a distal end portion of this braided wire 5 is removed, and further the insulating member 4 is removed, thereby exposing the conductor 3.
A shield member 7 is attached to the thus end-processed shielded wire 1, and the braided wire 5 of this shielded wire 1 is connected to the shield member 7. This shield member 7 comprises an electrically-conductive plate member 8 having a plate-like shape, and this plate member 8 includes a larger-diameter portion 8A, through which a hole 9 for passing the shielded wire 1 therethrough is formed, and a smaller-diameter portion 8B having a hole 10 through which the shield member 7 can be screw-fastened to the casing 2. The shield member 7 has a tubular connection portion 11 formed on and projecting perpendicularly from an end portion of the hole 9 in the plate member 8.
The shielded wire 1 is fitted in the hole 9, formed through the larger-diameter portion 8A of the shield member 7, and an end of the connection portion 11 of the shield member 7 is disposed flush with the distal end of the sheath 6 as shown in FIG. 6, and the braided wire 5 of the shielded wire 1 is folded outwardly of the connecting portion 11 of the shield member 7, and is fitted on this connecting portion 11 of the shield member 7. A ring 12 is fitted on the braided wire 5 fitted on the connecting portion 11 of the shield member 7, and this ring 12 is compressively deformed, thereby fixedly securing the shield member 7 to the shielded wire 1. A terminal 13, having a ring-shaped distal end portion, is fixedly secured to that portion of the conductor 3 exposed at the distal end of the shielded wire 1. The shielded wire 1, thus subjected to the end processing, is mounted on the casing 2 by a screw (not shown) or the like passing through the hole 10 in the shield member 7, so that the braided wire 5 of the shielded wire 1 is electrically connected to the casing 2.
The plate member 8 of the shield member 7, used as an earth terminal for electrically connecting the braided wire 5 of the shielded wire 1 to the casing 2, is formed, for example, by a copper sheet having a thickness of 0.4 mm. Therefore, the plate member 8 of the shield member 7 can be easily bent with the force of the finger, and when fastening this plate member 8 to the casing 2 by tightening the screw, using the hole 10 in the shield member 7, the plate member 8 of the shield member 7 is deformed by a rotational force in a tightening direction and the friction. Therefore, for preventing the deformation during this screw tightening operation, there has been effected an operation in which a reinforcing member 14, having the same shape as that of the shield member 7, and having a considerable thickness, is mated with the rear side of the shield member 7, and in this condition the screw tightening is effected. A hole 15, formed through this reinforcing member 14, communicates with the hole 9 in the shield member 7, and a hole 16, formed through the reinforcing member 14, communicates with the hole 10 in the shield member 7.
Thus, the reinforcing member 14 is used when mounting the shield member 7 on the casing 2, and therefore in the conventional shield connection structure, the number of the component parts is large, and this is the cause for a failure to enhance the efficiency of the assembling operation.
It is an object of this invention to provide a shield connection structure in which the strength of a plate member of a shield member is enhanced, and the plate member can be prevented from deformation when it is screw-fastened to a casing, and the number of component parts of the shield connection structure, in which the shield member is screw-fastened to the casing, can be reduced, and the operation for mounting the shield member on the casing can be enhanced.
(1) In order to achieve the above object, there is provided a shield connection structure comprising a conductive shield member including a plate member having a hole in which a shielded wire is inserted, a connection portion for connecting to a shielding portion of the shielded wire, and a reinforcing rib formed on a peripheral edge portion of the shield member; wherein the shield member is fixed to a casing for grounding.
With this construction of the invention of (1), the strength of the plate member of the shield member is enhanced, and the plate member is prevented from deformation when screw-fastening this plate member to the casing, and the number of the component parts of the shield connection structure, in which the shield member is screw-fastened to the casing, can be reduced, and the operation for mounting the shield member on the casing can be enhanced.
(2) In order to achieve the above object, there is provided the shield connection structure of (1), in which the connection portion has a tubular shape, and is formed on and projects perpendicularly from an end portion of the hole for passing the shielded wire therethrough.
With this construction of the invention of (2), the shielded wire can be fitted into the connection portion of the shield member, and a braided wire of the shielded wire can be folded back to cover the connection portion of the shield member, so that the braided wire of the shielded wire can be positively electrically connected to the shield member.
(3) In order to achieve the above object, there is provided the shield connection structure of (1), in which the reinforcing rib is formed in a continuous manner on the peripheral edge portion of the shield member over an entire periphery thereof.
With this construction of the invention of (3), the shield member can have such a strength that the plate member will not be deformed when the shield member is fastened to the casing by a screw.
(4) In order to achieve the above object, there is provided the shield connection structure of (1), in which the reinforcing rib is integrally formed with the shielding member.
With this construction of the invention of (3), the number of components of the shield connection structure can be reduced. 5. A shield connection structure according to claim 1, wherein the shielding member and the reinforcing rib are constituted by one and the same component.
(5) As another aspect of the invention, there is provided a shield member fixed to a casing for grounding comprising a plate member having a hole; a connection portion having a tubular shape provided around the hole for supporting and connecting to a shielding portion of the shielded wire; and a reinforcing rib integrally formed on a peripheral edge portion of the shield member.